


Stained (Alternately: Mizuki Gets a Route)

by Gbuscusdouglass



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Lovers, I suck at summaries sorry, M/M, Smut in later chapters so rating will go up, This pairing needs SO MUCH MORE LOVE, and v light spoilers for virus/trip route in reconnect, lmao im so nervous, lmao this is my first fic on here how do i tag, pls dont yell at me, spoilers for dmmd VN
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-03-31 10:04:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3974008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gbuscusdouglass/pseuds/Gbuscusdouglass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if when Aoba used scrap on Mizuki, he succeeded? A Mizuki route that takes place in the original game because these two dorks deserve it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Aoba watches horrified as his friend presses the blade to his grandmother's throat, the only family member he has left. And then he's running, sprinting, towards them. And then he's... in the tattoo parlor? Faceless figures hold conversations that are painfully loud. Then, after following the only figure he's seen with a face, he's here.

He glances anxiously at the hooded figure. Even though he knows who it is, he can't help but be nervous after everything that's happened.

"... Mizuki."

The man across from him slowly raises his head, causing his hood to slip off. Aoba's breath catches in his throat as he makes eye contact with his friend. Mizuki looks absolutely miserable, his eyes watery and his breaths ragged.

"Aoba... Help me, Aoba..."

Aoba finches as blood splatters over their surroundings. When he opens his eyes he notices that Dry Juice's tag art has turned to black. He quickly restores eye contact with Mizuki, and the look on his face breaks Aoba's heart. Before his brain fully recognizes what is happening he's running towards Mizuki once again, but instead of with the intent to save his Granny, it's to save the distraught tattoo artist himself. His arms are there just in time to stop Mizuki from crumbling to the ground, and he thoughtlessly pulls his friend into a tight hug.

"Mizuki..." Aoba fights the urge to pull away and look Mizuki in the eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Aoba... Oh god... Look what I've done..!"

"That doesn't matter right now!"

"... What..?"

"My god Mizuki! None of that matter's right now! You're what matters right now!"

"Do you even know what you're saying!?!" Mizuki pulls away from Aoba, taken aback by how easily Aoba can just ignore what he's done.

"Look what I've done! They're all walking puppets because of me! They'll hate me if they ever... I'm gonna lose the closest thing I've ever had to a family..." Mizuki takes a shuddery breath as he finishes his rant.

"And... And then you'll leave me too... I can't be alone again... I can't."

Aoba has to do a double take of Mizuki's words before he finds his response.

"Why would you think that I'm going to leave you?" He asks, his voice coming out more hurt than he expected. Mizuki looks at him like he's lost his mind.

"I tried to kill your grandmother!"

"That wasn't you!"

"STILL I-"

Aoba cuts Mizuki off by closing the distance that had grown between them as they argued. He wraps his arms around his panicking friend, who tenses at the initial contact, but then relaxes into Aoba's arms.

"I will never leave you." Aoba murmurs. Mizuki is quiet for a few moments before his quivering voice breaks the silence.

"You promise?" Aoba pulls away to look at his friend.

"I promise."

Mizuki pulls him back into their embrace and holds him almost painfully tight, before the world flashes white.

*****

Aoba shoots upright. His head is swimming, and everything is too damn bright. He lets out a groan before burying his head in his hands.

He hears garbled voices, but he stops trying to decipher what they're saying the moment that he remembers what had happened.

"Mizuki!" He jumps to his feet, a ferocious pain shoots though his head and the swimming feeling intensifies. He fights through the almost numbing pain as he stumbles towards his friend's blurry figure. He falls to his knees, and Mizuki finally comes into focus... but he's not moving. Aoba is barely able to repress the urge to scream, and luckily all that escapes is a small whimper as he brings a shaky hand under Mizuki's nose to check if he's breathing. Air blows gently on Aoba's fingers, and he lets out a faint sigh of relief. He lightly shakes his friend a few times, and his heart jumps when Mizuki lets out a faint groan. He slides an arm around Mizuki's shoulders and slowly raises him into a sitting position.

"Mizuki..?" Aoba's voice comes out shaky, nervous. His friend's eyes slowly open as he comes to. Aoba lets out a gentle sigh of relief as Mizuki turns to face him.

"Hey kid..." Mizuki says with an obviously forced smile, his voice rough and airy.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll live..."

Then he has his arms wrapped around Mizuki, his grip tight as he buries his head in the other man's shoulder.

"What were you thinking..." He murmurs as Mizuki returns the embrace.

"Honestly... I don't even know. I'm... sorry, Aoba."

Aoba tightens the hug, overwhelmed with relief at the fact that Mizuki is actually okay.

The sound of someone clearing their throat is what breaks the boys out of their embrace. The sound comes from Mink who, to Aoba, looks thoroughly annoyed. He glaces down the row of his companions. Koujaku looks just as relieved as Aoba feels. Clear looks as he usually does, his expression unreadable due to his gas mask, and Noiz just looks bored, staring off into space, not particularly interested in what's happening.

Aoba climbs to his feet before offering Mizuki a hand. Mizuki takes his hand and Aoba pulls him to his feet. Mizuki has a small smile on his face, but it falls the moment he makes eye contact with Granny. Aoba watches as his friend's entire body stiffens, Mizuki's face contouring into a look of absolute guilt. He looks like a dear in the headlights, his mouth opening and closing as he tries to find the words to express how awful he feels about everything that has happened.

Tae lets out a huff, seemingly unaffected by what had pretty much just happened.

"Come on, let's go home." She tells them, but it feels more like a command.

"B- but..." Mizuki glances nervously towards the building next to them, and Aoba knows immediately what he's thinking about.

"There's nothing we can do for them right now..." Aoba says gently. Mizuki gives him a pained look, before turning his gaze to the ground.

"Hey..." Aoba puts his hand on Mizuki's shoulder. "There's nothing we can do for them right now. We will save them, I promise."

A small smile flickers to Mizuki's face, and he nods gently.

"Okay, let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! This is my first time posting on here, and writing for the dmmd fandom so hopefully I didn't fuck up too badly. I'm honestly surprised no one's (at least that I've seen) written Mizuki a route yet, so here! If you enjoyed, a comment or kudos would make my day!


	2. Chapter 2

Aoba and the rest of the group, excluding Mink, seat themselves around the kitchen table. Mizuki and Aoba are utterly confused by what has just happened and both are eager for an explanation.

Tae tells them about how she used to work for Toue, and explains Aoba's ability as Scrap; a power that allows the user to control or enter the mind of whomever they choose. The conversation sprouts more questions than it answers, leaving Aoba wanting to talk more with his grandmother on the subject.

When she mentions how miraculous it is that Aoba was able to save Mizuki even though it was his first attempt at using Scrap, Aoba turns to smile at Mizuki, but finds him with his gaze locked on the floor, his face slightly flushed, and his features twisted into a look of... guilt? Aoba's smile flickers into a concerned frown before he redirects his focus back to Granny.

When she finishes talking, Aoba waits until the room has cleared out before he makes his way over to the tattoo artist. Mizuki is leaning against the wall, his eyes unfocused, staring at nothing in particular.

"How are you doing?" Aoba asks, keeping his voice gentle. Mizuki barely meets his eyes before he has to stifle a yawn with the back of his hand.

"Honestly? I'm... tired, like, really tired." He answers, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"You wanna go crash in my room for a bit?" Aoba offers.

"Seriously? Yeah man, if you don't mind that'd be awesome."

"Of course I don't mind. Are you planning to stay the night?"

"If I can, then I sure will be. When you wanna go to bed just wake me up and I'll move to the couch."

"Sounds good to me." Aoba tells his friend with a small smile.

After a few seconds of silence, Mizuki speaks up again.

"Hey Aoba?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." Mizuki murmurs, a light flush rushing to his cheeks.

~~~

Aoba finds his grandmother seated on the living room couch. He sits down beside her and asks all of the questions on his mind. They end up talking for a fairly long time, but he finds that when their conversation is over, few of his questions are left unanswered.

The clock on his coil tells him that it's 10:14 pm, and after the day he's had, he deems it late enough to head to bed. He climbs up the stairs and heads to the bathroom.

While he's brushing his teeth he finds himself staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. While he completes the mundane activity, he ends up studying his appearance. The first thing he notices is how exhausted he looks, causing him to realize how exhausted he feels. He notices other small things about his appearance, but one of the more prominent things is the state of his hair. It isn't disgustingly messy, but there's definitely more than a few noticeable tangles. He spits out his mouthful of toothpaste and sighs.

He reluctantly begins to comb through his hair with his fingers, flinching each time his fingers tug on a knot. With his eyes squeezed shut, he ends up concentrating on his breathing as a distraction from the borderline excruciating activity. When his fingers are able to comb without interruption from the roots to the tips of his hair, his eyes finally open, taking a second to adjust to the light before he can actually see. His hair looks considerably better, and he flicks off the bathroom light before heading to his room.

Aoba makes his way down the darkened hallway before opening his bedroom door as quietly as he can. He flicks on the light, and walks over to his bed, where Mizuki is still fast asleep.

He gently shakes his friends shoulder while murmuring his name, but gets no response. He tries again, shaking a little harder, saying his name a little louder... still nothing.

Aoba sighs, deciding to give up. If Mizuki is this tired, then he obviously needs the bed more than Aoba does; and after the day the tattoo artist has had, he doesn't blame him.

Aoba turns to look glance at his friend one more time before flicking off the light and exiting the room, quietly shutting the door behind himself. He makes his way down the stairs to the living room and plops himself down on the couch. He slides off his coat and drops it on the ground as he goes to lie down. He tucks one of the pillows on the couch under his head and makes himself comfortable. He finds himself surprisingly tired, and it isn't long before he drifts off into a deep sleep.

~~~

Mizuki shoots upright, panting and drenched in cold sweat. His hand quivers slightly as he raises it to wipe his face, causing him to notice that is entire body is shaking. He buries his face into his hands and attempts to slow his ragged breaths and racing pulse. After a few minutes of focusing on nothing other than taking slow, deep breaths, he finds himself calm enough to not be gasping for air. He opens his eyes and shifts his legs so they're hanging off the side of the... bed? Wait, why is he still in Aoba's room? For a brief moment the idea that Aoba might has left him flickers through his mind, and Mizuki shakes his head to rid himself of the unrealistic yet gut-wrenching idea. He decides to go look for Aoba for no other reason than to quell his anxieties, though he would never admit it. He slowly tiptoes though the hallway and down the stairs, letting out a sigh of relief when he gets to the main floor and sees Aoba passed out on the couch, his jacket pooled on the floor beside him. The bluenette is curled up tightly, and Mizuki can’t blame him; it’s not freezing, but it sure as hell isn't warm. The redhead slowly creeps over, careful to avoid any creaky floorboards, and grabs the blanket resting on the back of the couch. He unfolds it and drapes it over his younger friend's sleeping figure. He lets out a deep breath before turning back towards the stairs. If the other boy had been awake, it would have been nice to confide in him, but since he wasn't there isn't really any point in waking him up, right?  _Aoba has turned out to be a more loyal friend than we thought he was though..._ Mizuki stops midway back to the stairs and turns around, gently moving back towards the living room.  _But what of waking him up upsets him?_ He hadn't considered that... He turns and starts heading back towards the stairs, trying to ignore the small knot of frustration building in his stomach.  _Aoba won't mind listening._ He turns back towards the couch.  _What if he leaves us?_  Back towards the stairs.  _He promised not to leave, remember?_ Couch.  _He wouldn’t be the first to break a promise like that._  Stairs. Couch. Stairs couch stairs couchstairscouchstairscouchstAIRSCOUCH.

The argument rages on inside his head as his eyes begin to prick, the knot of frustration keeps growing. He quickly wipes away the droplets as soon as they form. Once they start though, the dam breaks, leaving Mizuki tired and frustrated and upset and  _scared_  like some small little kid and he hates it. The tears keep coming faster and faster, despite his best efforts to stop them. Mizuki takes a deep breath to try and quell his emotions for the second time since he woke up. The breath out doesn't come out silently as he hoped it to, instead escaping as a hiccup-like sob, breaking the peaceful silence of the seragaki household. He freezes immediately, eyes fixed on his friend sleeping only a few meters a way. He feels as if he's about to have a heart attack when the bluenette shifts. Mizuki's body is filled with equal amounts horror and dread as Aoba rolls over, his eyes cracking open as a yawn escapes his mouth. Mizuki wants nothing more at this moment than to run, but he stays locked in place, even as Aoba's eyes focus on him and the younger's features quickly express his worry.

"Mizuki..?" Aoba's hoarse voice breaks the silence. Unsure how to respond, Mizuki stays frozen, guilt pooling in his stomach.

"You...  wanna talk about it?" The younger boy offers as he moves to sit up, draping the blanket over his shoulders as he lets his legs drape over the side of the couch. Mizuki hesitantly moves towards the now free spot on the couch beside Aoba. He sits down, trying his best to squish himself as far away as the other boy as possible, and to avoid eye contact.

Even in the dark, Aoba can see how upset Mizuki looks, but his attention is quickly drawn to the pale bandages wrapped around the tattoo artist's neck.

Aoba stays silent for a few moments longer, trying to both give the other some time to calm down and to figure out what topic of conversation to pursue first. All the while, Mizuki refused to make eye contact, instead choosing to focus all his nervous energy on fiddling with a loose thread on the hoodie he had on; stopping every few seconds to roughly wipe his eyes, muttering a curse or two under his breath as he does.

Aoba lets out a gentle sigh to break the silence before attempting to start a conversation.

"Bandages?" Aoba questions as he motions to Mizuki's covered throat. Mizuki's hands instinctively find the bandages, smoothing out as he mutters his response just loud enough for the younger boy to hear.

"Yeah... I hope you don't mind I took them without asking but... I just..." He trails off, unable to find the exact words he was looking for. Aoba nods to tell him he understands before continuing on to a new topic.

"So..." Aoba begins gently, "What's up?"

Mizuki shifts uncomfortably in his spot before his response races through his lips. "It was.... just a bad dream, I can deal with it by myself sorry for waking you up I-"

"You don't  _have_  to deal with these things on your own though; isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place?" Aoba's voice comes out more aggressive than he expected it to. He quickly stutters an apology as he realizes how mean his sentence could be taken as. Mizuki just kind of stares at him, his features frozen in place.

"I.... Yeah... I guess." He murmurs a few moments later, and Aoba lets out a sigh of relief at seeing the other boy wasn't offended. Aoba nods to tell the other boy to continue speaking.

"Well, the dream started with me..." Mizuki started as Aoba listens intently. As Mizuki continued his retelling of his nightmare, Aoba found himself noticing just how exhausted he was, and though he tried to stay up to listen and be there for his friend, he found himself slowly drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Please take note that I have no idea what I am doing. Are they in character? Is anything right at all? I just don't know... GLITTER NEXT CHAPTER YAY I'M SO EXCITED/TERRIFIED TO WRITE IT!!
> 
> Also I feel it's worth mentioning that I have rly bad anxiety, which is why this chapter, and future chapters will take/took so long :// If you do see any spelling/grammar errors that I missed feel free to point them out.


End file.
